With the NU Board of Regents meeting on Friday, December 5th, this week is the final exam of AAUP organizing. The boss battle, if you will. Whatever metaphor you use, it is time to step up and show up in support of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln!
You showed up outside of the APC hearings to cheer for all six departments and watched the EAS reps leave their hearing to Queen’s ‘We are the Champions.’
You showed up to listen to the Stats Department evicerate the metrics.
You showed up to learn more about higher education at the EDAD town hall.
You talked to your Faculty Senators and said you, too, have no confidence in the Chancellor.
If you haven’t done these things, that’s okay. We still love you! And there is still time this week to show up and show out for One Faculty, One Nebraska (and yes, we still have t-shirts!).
Just Say No To Program Cuts!
Whatever your role or your rank, it is time for us to use our collective voice as a faculty to say NO. No program cuts that are unjustifiable financially. No cuts to programs that enroll hundreds of students, that teach service classes across the university. No to program cuts when instructional investments are shrinking, and administrator pay is rising. No cuts to graduate programs. NO PROGRAM CUTS WITHOUT SHARED GOVERNANCE.
And not cuts to programs about which the Academic Planning Committee wrote in their report, “It is clear to us that each of these units provides unique, valuable contributions to the research, creative, teaching, outreach, and Extension missions of the University.”
Hint– all of our departments at UNL make these contributions. This isn’t just about these four departments. This is about all of our departments and the unique contributions they make to the University and the State. This is about shared governance and the input of faculty in charting our course through tumultuous times.
LFG!
Say it loud! Say it Proud! NO PROGRAM CUTS!
Join the UNL AAUP at these events the week of December 1st!
Tuesday, December 2nd: Sign Making, City Campus Union 1-3 pm. Come out and make your very own protest sign for the December 5th BOR meeting. We’ll have supplies; you bring your message.
Wednesday, December 3rd: New Orleans Style Jazz Funeral, starting at the statue outside the stadium at 11:30. This is the part where we get to dance at the revolution! There will be music! There will be props! You should come!
Thursday, December 4th: Rally at City Campus Union and East Campus Union 11-1pm. Come and make some noise and be counted. NO PROGRAM CUTS!
Friday, December 5th: Board of Regents Meeting, Varner Hall. The meeting starts at 9, we plan to be there by 8. If you would like to speak, please be there early to sign up. If you want to hold a sign and yell and bang some pots and pans, come anytime. There’s limited parking, but there are StarTran buses that run between City and East Campus. We’re also working to charter some buses to help ferry folks back and form.
Your University Needs You
I cannot state this more clearly. UNL needs you on December 5th. AAUP needs you on December 5th. If you’re teaching, no, you’re not.
Call in sick. Take a mental health day. I know we all think we must fully dispense our pearls of wisdom before our actual final exam, but there is no greater lesson for your students than modeling civic action. In the K-12 world, we call that “a teachable moment.” Sometimes things happen, and we need to scrap that lesson plan because whatever it is offers an important and timely learning opportunity. That is December 5th. And tell your students why. You’re not telling them what to think, only that they should think. You aren’t telling them what is important, but you are showing them that things that are worth having, like a public university with a mission to serve the people, require collective action.
